Washington (CNN) - Rep. Charles Rangel on Tuesday compared what he considers the most intransigent members of the House Republican caucus with the Confederates of the American Civil War.

The last-minute holdups on a deal over funding the government and raising the debt ceiling, the longtime Democrat from New York City told CNN's Ashleigh Banfield, are not coming from conflict between Republicans and Democrats.
Rather, "this is all about a handful of people who got elected as Republicans that want to bring down our government. You can see it in the streets. You can see where they're coming from," Rangel said.

"The same way they fought as Confederates, they want to bring down the government and reform it."

Rangel was asked to confirm that he was referring to the Confederates of the Civil War. He told Banfield, "If you take a look at the states that they control, take a look at the Dixiecrats, see how they went over the Republican Party…"

To that Banfield pointed out that Michelle Bachmann, a major voice against Obamacare, is not a Dixiecrat but a Republican from Minnesota.

soundoff(303 Responses)

GeoThom

So, Mr. Don't Pay Yer Taxes Rangel, The Tea Party is like The Confederates, Huh?
I swear, a politicians memory is about as Thick as his Hide.
Everybody has forgotten that Obama was well on his way to being crowned King,
until the Tea Party stepped in and shouted a great Big Whoa!
How many more of the Bill of Rights are these Rats going to step on before folks wake up and smell the Tea?

October 15, 2013 11:28 pm at 11:28 pm |

bcrunner

You are very funny bob!! Republicans live within their means? ha ha!! very funny!!

October 15, 2013 11:33 pm at 11:33 pm |

MP

Any person (Tea Party) following a fictional book (Atlas Shruggs) as their life agenda is unstable. They are consistantly quoting from this book which suggest that they are the best and the brightest. Makes me think of Nazi. They decide who is the best and the brightest. Which is pretty scary.

October 15, 2013 11:34 pm at 11:34 pm |

Michael Benjamin

Please forgive Charlie Rangel, he is old with mental faculties failing him.

October 15, 2013 11:34 pm at 11:34 pm |

bill

the state with the largest KKK units in the 20`s and 30`s was in OHIO

October 15, 2013 11:36 pm at 11:36 pm |

Jbarthol

He's nuts. The Tea Party is the closest we have to the people the freed the African American population before, during, and following the Civil War. You want to see who is closest to the Confederate look at the Democrats. Heck many historians even say that Kennedy would be republican by todays standards. Civil Rights have always been a Republican mainstay, not a liberal one.

October 15, 2013 11:38 pm at 11:38 pm |

Lindsey

We need to quit selling out our kids! The Tea Party realizes this! Rangel doesn't care. He is selling out our kids as is the Democratic party!

October 15, 2013 11:39 pm at 11:39 pm |

John Riley Goldsmith

The Democrat Party knows all about its historical roots in the Confederacy. This is the ultimate political slur against the Party of Lincoln that saved the Union at the cost of 450,000 brave Union soldiers. Wrangel needs to be censured immediately for this crude comment and insult.

October 15, 2013 11:40 pm at 11:40 pm |

Tom Riddle

It's more like a husband cutting up his wife's credit card when she won't stop spending!

October 15, 2013 11:44 pm at 11:44 pm |

James Rustle

Why do we care about what one of the most demonstrably corrupt members of congress has to say?

October 15, 2013 11:58 pm at 11:58 pm |

Deb Ed

I guess the liberal democrats figure that we don't have enough government meddling into our lives. They also don't think 17 trillion dollars is enough debt, so "let's just add trillions and trillions more". We are going to be so far in the hole, China is going to OWN the United States.

Hey, bob, you know what's a great way to live within your means? Pay your bills.

October 16, 2013 12:04 am at 12:04 am |

Ed

The Tea Party ignited when bailouts started under Bush and Obama. Socialists disparage them out of fear for what they might accomplish. They are trying to inject some responsible spending habits. To call them anarchists, confederates, etc is absurd.

October 16, 2013 12:09 am at 12:09 am |

Tea Partied Out

The Republican Party allowed their publicity arm, Fox News, to go wild with publicity of the Tea Party, throwing raw meet to enrage the populace to win votes. Well, that has partially succeeded, but now, as they say, they have to dance with what brung 'em, and not liking the other "charms" of Tea Party politicians. This will only get worse....

October 16, 2013 12:10 am at 12:10 am |

Shawn

Charlie – so what you're saying is that the Tea Party Conservatives are the Democrats? It was the Democrat Party that created the confederacy to secede and continue slavery, a Democrat President started Segregation (Wilson 1913) in the Federal Government, and it was mostly Democrats that voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1963. So when did the Democrat party have their giant change in philosophy between 1963 and today? They didn't...the tools of oppression are simply more subtle today than they were decades ago. Educate yourselves people and don't follow the biased media like sheep.

October 16, 2013 12:11 am at 12:11 am |

AmIRegistered

Charlie is a confirmed buffoon that should be in jail for tax evasion.

October 16, 2013 12:11 am at 12:11 am |

Thomas

Coming from a tax cheat, that's rich.

October 16, 2013 12:15 am at 12:15 am |

Republicans freed slaves

Wow that's a new one. Guess republicans and democrats swapped places since Democrats were pro slavery.

October 16, 2013 12:15 am at 12:15 am |

mayhem4u

I compare Senator Rangel to Al Capone!! They both were guilty of tax evasion!! It is time to have a renewal in Washington!! Let's put and end to career politicians that only serve themselves and a small group of supporters. No matter whether they are Republicans, Democrats, Tea Partiers, Independents or Libertarians, they need to be voted out of office in 2014. There should never again be a law created that exempts congressmen or creation of benefits only for congressmen!! As the founding fathers intended, they should provide one or two terms of SERVICE TO THE COUNTRY, then return home to their real profession!!

October 16, 2013 12:23 am at 12:23 am |

stinkyonion

What the tea partiers realize is that current spending levels are unsustainable. We will as a nation default eventually. Is it better to default now at 17 trillion in debt or should we kick the can down the road and default at 40 trillion in debt? I say lets solve it now by not authorizing further spending we dont have. I know that is not the opinion of the DNC, who want to spend spend spend until they run out of other peoples money.

October 16, 2013 12:27 am at 12:27 am |

Howard Gaass

Perhaps one should review history and see that Michelle Bachmann, Steve King, and those Northerners of their ilk, could best be compared to the Copperheads of the pre-civil war era. Seems as thought these neo-confederates are playing the same destructive tactics to bring down economy and using the games of dis-functional democracy to advance their own agenda to the distinction of the country.

October 16, 2013 12:27 am at 12:27 am |

M Gonzales

Huh, and here I thought the GOP was formed from Ex Whigs and Anti slavery Democrats and the Civil War was started when Democrats left the union because a GOP: Lincoln was elected. I could have sworn the term Dixiecrat was their for a reason, I wonder what party that Governor belong too that blocked that child from entering her school. I forget how many GOP voted for the first civil right bill vs Democrat, course my history is fuzzy on what parties the confederates.

October 16, 2013 12:27 am at 12:27 am |

tngal

We need to stop pointing fingers. What scares me about the shutdown and refusal to lift the debt ceiling (to pay for bills Congress has a.ready run up) is that the U.S. will default causing increase in interest rates and decrease in value of property and the dollar. Investments will loose value. Wosre than that, our democracy has been highjacked!

October 16, 2013 12:30 am at 12:30 am |

kim clark

uh, Michelle Bachman is under indictment for misuse of campaign funds and is not running for re-election. She is from nowhere. She thinks Obama is a Muslim, which aligns her much more with "Dixiecrats" than Minnesotans, a decent people. Who cares what she is? She's OUT of politics. She IS a nutjob "married" to and gay conversionist. What state she is from is not as important as what is going on in her head which is as scary as her glazed over eyes indicate.